Surgical Smoke And Infection Control

Gaseous byproducts produced during electrocautery, laser surgery or the use of ultrasonic scalpels are usually referred to as ‘surgical smoke’. This smoke, produced with or without a heating process, contains bio-aerosols with viable and non-viable cellular material that subsequently poses a risk of infection (human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, human papillomavirus) and causes irritation to the lungs leading to acute and chronic inflammatory changes. Furthermore, cytotoxic, genotoxic and mutagenic effects have been demonstrated.